Two Paths
by xAxBitxObsessedx
Summary: When faced with tragedy how do you react? Edward moves on. At his new school he meets Bella, who has a different reaction. Bella shuts down. Or has she? AH. Please R&R! T for some language and because I'm paranoid!
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own anything!**

**AN at the Bottom! **

**EPOV**

I walked through the house, avoiding the still unpacked boxes.

"Dad! Where are my jeans?" I yelled loud enough to reach wherever my father was. This morning I had opened a box that was labelled 'Edward's clothes' but was filled with my mother's clothes. The box next to it was filled with pots and pans despite having the same label.

In my house this isn't unusual. My father's boxes were most likely full of my Dad's clothes. In fact we had all gotten used to it by now.

"I don't know you'll have to wear something else. I have to go but I'll be back at 5. The nurse should arrive soon." I heard my father's voice yell back at me.

I sighed and turned to make my way back upstairs.

"Edward, what are you doing we have to move soon and you aren't even dressed!" My Mother's voice called from behind me. I turned to see her wearing her favourite green evening dress. She always wore it if we didn't choose clothes for her.

I wrapped my arms around her and repeated the same thing I had told her half an hour ago. "It's okay Mum, we aren't moving for another week." She returned my hug and I felt her nod.

When I let go of her she stood back from me a bit before looking down at what she was wearing. "Why am I in this?" She looked back at me confused.

I didn't answer her question I just took her hand and lead her to her room where I saw the clothes my father had laid out on their bed. "How about you put those clothes on for me?" I said before sitting on the end of her bed, turning my back to her.

It wasn't that my mother needed constant supervision; I just wanted to make sure she got into the more comfortable clothes Carlisle had picked out. When she had finished I placed her dress back in the cupboard.

I took her to the kitchen and poured her some cereal for her to eat. She had just started eating when the doorbell rang. Esme started to get up but I told her to continue eating and walked to answer the door.

Standing at the door was a tall woman with blonde hair. She stuck out her hand and introduced herself. "Hi, I'm Rosalie Hale. I'm here to look after your mother."

"Edward. " I replied shaking her hand then stepping aside to let her in. "Sorry about the pyjamas." I added, remembering my state of dress. "It can get a bit hectic around here."

"Don't worry about it." she replied with a smile. I could tell my mother was going to like her. "Do you mind if you fill me in on her history? I like to hear it from the family." She said as we walked toward the kitchen.

"Sure." I replied. "18 months ago my mother, Esme, started showing signs of confusion. It slowly developed into her forgetting things my mother would never forget. First it was my birthday, then her and my father's anniversary. Eventually my father recognised her symptoms and took her to a colleague of his, who diagnosed her with dementia." We were nearing the kitchen, so I stopped and turned to Rosalie. "She is very repetitive and with the change she will talk about moving a lot. If it comes up, just tell her weren't moving for another week. It relaxes her; the last thing we need is her stressing out. Another thing, if she puts on her green dress, just let her wear it until she realises that she is wearing it. She will put it on frequently. We tried hiding it so she wouldn't wear it, but she tore up the house looking for it."

Rosalie just nodded her head before asking, "Does she have any emotional outbursts? It just helps if I'm prepared."

I took a deep breath before answering, it was the hardest part of my mother's condition. "She has moments were she remembers that she has the condition, she will cry and apologise a lot. It is just a matter of waiting until the moment passes."

Once again Rosalie nodded, before following me into the kitchen. I made the introductions, being honest with my mother and telling her Rosalie had come to help look after her. I left them in the kitchen to get to know one another so I could change for school. As I walked out into the hallway, I bumped into my brother, Emmett. I was about to keep moving, hoping to avoid whatever smart ass comment Emmett was about to make, but he grabbed my arm.

"Who's the babe?" He asked, staring into the kitchen.

I should have expected this.

"Mum's nurse. Her name is Rosalie." I replied, waiting for my arm to be released.

"A nurse you say, well I have always had a thing for nurses. Especially one's with an ass like..." He continued to speak, I just stopped listening. He had let go of my arm, so I continued on my way to my room.

I love my big brother, don't get me wrong. He was just a bit too much it handle this early in the morning. Knowing him after I stopped listening, he probably started talking about the many fantasies currently passing through that small brain of his. But I would put up with all of that, because I wanted him here. It was a big help to have him here to help with Mum instead of having him living on the campus of his college. It was a big thing for him to drive to Seattle most days.

It was having him here that meant she didn't have to live in a specialist clinic. Dad's colleagues had strong words to tell him before we left. They all thought we were crazy not to put in a place where she could be taken care of. Dad had a bit of a strong response to that. It was something along the lines of "She is my wife, I can look after her. Mind your own fucking business." Now for most you would expect a reaction like that, but Carlisle never swore.

I knew they had thoughts about us moving, but they kept that to themselves. They weren't the only ones to criticise our move, but we had good intentions. We loved our mother; we wouldn't put her through the confusion without a reason.

Dr. Loc.

He was the reason for our move. His clinic was just half an hour away. He is a brain surgeon who is trialling a new medication that has had great success with other dementia patients. Carlisle had done his research and it all seemed promising.

I finished dressing and walked downstairs to say good bye to my mother. She was in fit of laughter when I reached the kitchen, where she was washing her bowl and spoon. I slipped Rosalie a piece of paper that had Esme's medication and times written on it, along with the hiding place of the lockbox containing the meds and the combination needed to open it, before giving my mother a kiss good bye, reminding her that I was just going to school and I was coming back, that I wasn't leaving her forever. At that she smiled and gave me a hug. I walked through the house to the door that led to the garage. I got into my beloved silver Volvo and drove to Forks high school.

**Well hi!**

**Umm... so this is the first chapter and I promise you that in the chapters I have written they are much longer.**

**I will update every Wednesday, unless I am too unwell to, and I must say that is likely to happen at one stage or another! What can I say, chronic pain is a bitch!**

**For the next few updates I will be updating two chapters each time and that is because each alternate chapter is very short, I mean very! It won't stay like that though, so it is only temporary!**

**Enough from me, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, although there was not much action or anything to interesting going on, but that will change!**

**Please review!! Thank you for reading!**

**xObsessedx**


	2. Chapter 2

**BPOV**

I woke up.

I made my bed.

I walked downstairs.

I ate.

I went to school.

I didn't think.


	3. Chapter 3

**EPOV**

I pulled into the parking lot and took in my surroundings. The cars around me were all obviously second hand, or older. I hoped they didn't get a snob vibe from me. Don't get me wrong, my family has quite a lot of money, but we try not to be flashy about it, except when it came to our cars, that was the one exception we made.

I stepped out of my car just in time to see a yellow Porsche pull into the parking lot. Well at least I wasn't the only one with a fancy car. It was a beautiful piece of design and I found myself wondering how fast it could go. I watched as a short girl with even shorter black hair got out of the driver's seat. A tall boy got out of the passengers side. He had blonde wavy hair that came to his jaw line. The boy walked over to the girl and placed his arm around her waist. They both turned toward me and I watched as a smile spread across her face. She whispered to the boy before they made their way toward me.

"Hey, I'm Alice Brandon, this is Jasper Whitlock. You must be new." The girl said as Jasper put his hand out for me to shake.

"Edward Cullen. Nice to meet you." I replied as I shook his hand. I put my hand out to Alice, but she just laughed and gave me a hug.

When she let go I looked at Jasper, who was laughing under his breath.

"Don't worry, we are going to be great friends." She said. "Follow me, I'll show you to the office."

I followed as she walked across the school grounds. Jasper resumed his position next to her, his arm around her waist.

"You have a beautiful car." I said after a few meters. "I didn't think I would see one in a town this small."

Both Alice and Jasper laughed before she replied. "No one in this town thought they would see one. My dad is the paediatric surgeon at the hospital. He takes pride in the money he makes and he likes to be flashy about it. I get a bit embarrassed by it and I don't like to show off. Usually clothing is the only exception I make, but I saw this car a few months ago and fell in love." It was only after this that I looked at what she was wearing. Sure enough her clothes looked quite expensive."It was my Dad that told me you were coming. He met your Dad and when they talked about kids he mentioned you."

By this time we had reached the office. Alice and Jasper walked through the door and waited as I got my schedule. The secretary, whose bright red lipstick matched her hair, also gave me a sheet for all my teachers to sign.

We walked to my first class, which I found I was sharing with Jasper. Alice gave Jasper a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to walk away. Before she started to walk she turned back around again.

"Oh, Edward, I almost forgot. My Mum asked me to give this to you for you to give this to your Mum. It's an invite to some lunch she is having with a few of her friends on Saturday." She handed me a white envelope with _Mrs. Cullen_ written on the front in fancy black writing.

I hesitated; this was always a difficult situation. Before I could stop myself, I spoke. "She is out of town then, sorry."

As soon as the words left my lips I regretted them. I had never lied about my mother, because I wasn't ashamed of her, I loved her very much. When people asked me about her I usually told them she was unwell and of course with that came the questions.

What is it?

How bad of it?

How long has she had it?

Worse than that was the sympathy. I'm so sorry, I feel sorry for you, poor thing. The comments were endless.

"That's too bad; they will have to do something when she gets back." Alice said before waving goodbye and walking to her class. I didn't have time to stop her and tell her the truth. For the first time ever I didn't want to. This caused more guilt.

Both Alice and Jasper seemed like good people and I really liked them. I wanted them to be my friends and I wanted them to want to be friends with me not because they felt sorry for me but because they genuinely want to be my friend. At that moment I decided that I would tell them, after we got to know each other more.

I sat in the seat next to Jasper and sat and listened to the history lesson I couldn't care less about. After history Jasper showed me to my next class. I walked in and had the teacher sign my form before moving to a spare seat. As I got my books out of my bag I heard someone sitting next to me. I looked over to see a girl with obviously bottle blonde hair.

"Hey handsome. I'm Tanya, who would you be?" she said, attempting and failing to look seductive.

"Edward." I simply said before turning to the front of the classroom. I tried to ignore her as I felt her hand rub my upper arms. She gave them a squeeze and smiled.

I was going to be sick.

"Do you work out baby?" she said once again failing to be seductive.

I simply took hold of her hand and placed it back on her desk before returning my attention to the front. I spent the next 45 minutes taking her hand from the part of my body she decided to touch and placing it back on her desk. By the end of the lesson I was ready to cut her hands off.

"How 'bout we do something this weekend?" she said after the bell rung signalling the end of the lesson.

"Look I am sure you are a lovely girl, but I am not interested okay?" I said as politely as I could, unfortunately I failed and it didn't sound at all nice.

Tanya smiled before leaning over toward me. "Come on I can show you a good time?" she whispered in my ear. Now I was just angry. This girl had pushed me over the edge. She couldn't take a hint and I was not in the mood to put up with her any more. I could only take so much. Before I could do or say something I would later regret I stood and walked out of the classroom.

The rest of my classes passed in a blur, before I knew it, it was lunch. I walked to the cafeteria, following the crowd of people. Just as I walked through the door, Alice and Jasper appeared next to me.

"Shit, you scared the hell out of me." I said after hitting the roof. Jasper smiled and Alice laughed at my reaction.

We bought and paid for our food before I followed Alice and Jasper to a table. We sat down and soon after three others joined us. Alice introduced them to me, Angela, Ben and Mike.

We were halfway through talking about a movie that had recently been on, when another boy joined our table. He looked deep in thought, when he looked at Alice he shook his head. Alice quickly introduced us, his name was Jacob. He shook my hand and gave me a warm smile, but I could still tell he was worried about something. As soon as I had been introduced, everyone at the table fell silent.

"Any luck today, Jake?" Mike asked.

Jacob just shook his head. "She wouldn't even look at me today. I honestly thought after last week it would be better, you know." He looked down at the table, moving the food on his plate around with his fork. "I just don't know how much longer I can see her like this for."

Everyone at the table stayed silent. I was curious to know what they were talking about, but it was obvious it hurt them and I wasn't going to force anything.

I looked at the tables in front of ours, trying to see if I could make some understanding of what they were talking about. All the tables I could see were full of smiling, laughing people. I was tempted to look behind me, but worried I might cause offence. Just as I was about to give up and go back to eating, I saw a girl sitting in the corner. She was by herself. It was impossible to know what she looked like, except for her brown hair, because she was facing the wall.

I looked away in time to see Alice whisper something in Jasper's ear. The rest of the group was still staring at their plates.

"Hey, Edward, come with me for a sec." Jasper said as he stood. Confused, I followed. About halfway across the room I realised we were heading outside. I suddenly panicked, hoping they hadn't seen me looking and had decided to kick me out of their group.

Once outside, Jasper walked to a picnic table nearby. Jasper motioned for me to sit down, he remained standing in front of me.

"Alice suggested that I tell you about what we were talking about. If you're going to hang out with us you have to realise that what I am about to tell you is included with the deal. We want you to know what you get when you are friends with us. Plus she wanted you to hear the truth from us, rather than some bullshit story from someone else." He paused, dropping his head to look at his feet before continuing. "Her name is Bella Swan. Everyone has been friends with her since she moved here. She was kind, funny, passionate, she was the perfect friend.

"She moved here three years ago to live with her Dad. Her Mum had just gotten married and she said she wanted them to have space. She would fly to Phoenix every few months to see her, she'd talk for weeks before she went about how she couldn't wait to see her." A smile had crept onto his face. "Then she would come back and talk nonstop about what she did while she was there."

As quickly as it had appeared, his smile faded. "Her Mum was killed. Some bastard ran a red light and killed her."

"When?" I asked before I had a chance to stop myself. "Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine." He replied quickly. "3 months, 2 weeks and 1 day ago. That was the day we also lost Bella.

"After that day, she just wasn't the same. For a little while she sat with us, just staring at the wall behind us. She was there physically, but in every other respect she was gone. Then she stopped sitting with us, refused to talk to us. She just sat there, alone, refusing help." I watched as a tear dripped from his cheek to the dirt below.

"Every day we ask her to sit with us, to talk to us. Every day she says no." He looked up at me. "We thought she was getting better. Last week she gave us more than a one word answer. It was more than we had heard from her in such a long time; we couldn't help but get our hopes up.

"I wish you had met her before all of this. You would have loved her. We still love her, always will." At that moment sobs ripped through his chest. I got up to help him, to comfort him, but he just mumbled something about going to the bathroom and walked off.

The bell rung just as I started walking toward the cafeteria. Alice came running out the door. She saw me and walked over. Before she could say anything I gave her a hug.

"Thanks, for letting me in. I won't abuse your trust, that is a promise." I said. I meant every word of it. "He is in the bathroom." I added as I let go of her.

"Thanks, Edward." She said before jogging toward the bathrooms.

I walked inside to retrieve my bag. Jake was still at the table. I pulled my timetable out of my bag to discover I had Biology.

"What do you have?" Jacob asked.

"Biology. You?"

"Physics. I'll walk you to your classroom." He replied before standing. I followed him out the door of the building. "Alice told me that Jasper told you about Bella." He said once we were in the cool air. "Alice also said that we can trust you. I'm sure you're a nice guy, but I just wanted to let you know that if any harm gets to Bella, I will kill you. She is my best friend and I will do anything to protect her." He said this all with a serious tone that didn't make me doubt his words for a second.

We had reached the classroom and a sudden smile appeared on his face. "But seriously man, it was good to meet you." He held out his hand and I shook it before he walked off to his class. I stood, puzzled, for a minute before turning and walking into the classroom. Once inside I understood why Jake's talk had taken place just then. All the seats in the classroom were full.

All except the seat next to Bella.

I walked up to the teacher's desk and introduced myself. He signed the sheet, gave me a text book and directed me to sit next to Bella.

She had her head down, her hair covering her face. She looked like an ordinary girl. Lime green sweater, jeans and converse. As I sat next to her, her head turned to look at me. She had pale skin, although that was not unusual for this part of the country. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but it was her eyes that I couldn't look away from.

Her facial features were void of emotion, but in those two brown orbs there was so much emotion held captive. Pain, anger, grief, it was all visible.

I don't know how long I was looking at her for, but when the teacher brought the class to attention, although snapped out of a trance, Bella dropped her gaze back to the desk. Her hair once again covered her face.

I spent the lesson trying to listen to the lecture we were receiving on mitosis but I couldn't help my mind from wondering back to the image of her eyes.

The lesson finished quicker than I thought possible. I had thought about it all through the lesson and I decided that I should at least try to talk to Bella. I took a breath before turning toward her.

"Hi, I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to introduce myself before the lesson, I'm Edward Cullen."

She looked at me, grabbed her bag and walked out the classroom. Just before exiting she paused and glanced back at me. She looked scared.

I spent gym trying to figure out her last look. Why would she be scared? Did I do something? I thought back to what I had done during the lesson. Was it the way I had stared at her? Although she had stared back and she didn't tell me to stop. After going through the lesson over and over again in my head, it was still the only possibility I could think of.

This thought carried me through the lesson and after the bell went signalling freedom, then carried me to my car. I forced myself to concentrate on the road on my way home.

I parked in the garage and I knew something was wrong the minute I got out of my car. I could hear the yelling through the door. I ran through the house, dropping my school bag along the way. As I got closer to the scene, I could make out words.

"What are you doing? Who are you? Why are you here? I want you out of my house now!" Esme's unmistakable voice shrieked. I could hear her obvious panic.

I slowed down to a walk as I came to the kitchen door, the last thing Esme needed was for me to burst through the door, it would only add to her panic.

I walked into the kitchen to find the scene much worse than I had anticipated. Esme was in the corner of the kitchen, a large kitchen knife in her hand. The knife was pointed directly at Rosalie. The minute Rosalie saw me a look of relief crossed her face. However this only lasted a brief moment.

As soon as Esme spotted me, the knife was pointed in my direction. "Who are you people? What do you want from me?" she yelled, her eyes darting between us.

"Mum, Mum, it's okay. It's me, Edward. Your son." I said as calmly as I could.

"You aren't Edward, don't mess with me. Get the fuck out of my house!" She yelled back. The last sentence hurt me more than the first. My mother never swore, she hated it when any of us swore. At that moment it was like she had completely forgotten who she was.

I sighed, relieved when I heard Emmett's jeep pull into the garage. Esme had resumed her yelling at us, telling us it was her house, asking why we were here, then repeating it over again.

I heard heavy footsteps as my brother ran toward us. He paused at the door, taking in the situation.

"She doesn't know who Rosalie or I are." I whispered to him. He nodded before walking through the door.

"Mum, are you okay?" he said softly.

The second she saw him she dropped the knife and ran to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Emmett thank God your here. They are trying to hurt me." I heard her say into Emmett's shoulder.

I walked over to Rosalie and led her into the next room. I sat her in a chair and told her I would be right back. I walked back the way I had come to find my bag. Once I had found it I took out my cell phone to call Carlisle. I explained the situation to him and he told me to give her one of the tranquilizers we kept for times like this. I walked back into the kitchen, picked up the knife, put it away and took out the locked box we used for her medications. I grabbed the tablet I needed as well as a glass of water. I walked to Esme's room. Emmett had placed her on the bed and was sitting next to her, stroking her hair. Luckily, she was facing away from the door. I gave the pill and water to Emmett before walking back to Rosalie.

She didn't look up as I entered the room, dragged a chair in front of her and sat down.

"You know they tell you about this at school and you go through all the theory so you think you are prepared, but I felt useless in there." She looked up at me. "I should have known what to do"

"It is impossible to be fully prepared for something like that. It's not a predictable situation." I replied. She just nodded before standing up.

"I should get going. I'll see you tomorrow." She said before walking away, not giving me time to say anything else.

Emmett walked into the room a little while later, sitting where Rosalie had been sitting.

"She's asleep." He said "What did Dad say?"

"That he hopes this doctor can help us." I replied.

We sat there in silence for a few more minutes before I retreated to my room. On my way I looked into my mother's room to see her sleeping peacefully.

My sleep wasn't nearly as peaceful.

* * *

**See why I'm doing two chapters at a time for a little while. Bella's chapter's are very short!! They will get longer as the story progresses!**

**So, what are your thoughts? **

**Thank you so much for reading!**

**xx  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**BPOV **

_Bella._

_Bella._

_Just don't think about them._

_Or him._

_He isn't the one who needs you._

I tried to forget his face as I drifted off to sleep to my usual lullaby of yelling and crying.

* * *

I dreamt that night.

I was a princess, locked in a tower.

He was my prince, come to rescue me.

_Silly Bella._

_Silly Bella._

_You don't need to be rescued._

_But what if they think I do?_

That night I did think.

* * *

**Some People have said that they are concerned about these chapters, but I want to remind you that these chapters will get longer and the length of her chapters actually act as a metaphor for Bella's growth...Just thought I would let you know!**


	5. Chapter 5

**EPOV**

I was in the forest, running. I didn't know why or where I was going, I just kept running. I could see the light from a clearing ahead of me. I pushed myself to run faster. I broke through the clearing to see a tower. I heard the yell of a beautiful voice. I looked up to see Bella.

"I'm trapped! Help me! Edward, please! Help me!" she cried over and over again. I tried to climb the tower by the wall was flat, I couldn't get a grip.

"Bella! How?" I yelled up at her.

"Edward, Edward? Is that you honey?" My Mother's voice interrupted my panic to save Bella. I couldn't see her anywhere.

"Mum? Mum, where are you?" I yelled, desperate to locate her voice.

"I'm up here! Help me!" I looked up to see my mother in Bella's place.

The world started to fall apart. Trees collapsed around me, the earth cracked open, threatening to swallow me whole.

"Mum! Bella! How can I save you?" I yelled.

I felt myself being pulled back and I struggled against the force to move forward. I needed to save them! Why couldn't I save them? I disappeared into the forest and my world went black.

* * *

The rest of the week flew by and I fell into an easy routine. Wake up, get Esme dressed, get her breakfast, leave to go to school as soon as Rosalie arrives. At school I would meet Alice, Jasper, Jacob and the rest of the group outside the cafeteria. We would talk until the bell rang and then Jasper and I would walk to first period. At lunch we would sit and talk and wait. Everyday someone would approach Bella, ask her to sit with us and then return to the table without her. Some days she would reply in words, other times she would just shake her head. I was becoming good friends with the group, especially Alice, Jasper and Jake. I liked it in Forks, much more than I thought I would.

I was sitting at our usual lunch table, waiting for the rest of the group to turn up. I looked toward the door to see Alice and Jasper walk through. I had learnt they were rarely separated.

"Hey guys. What's up?" I asked them as they approached me.

"The sky." Alice said through a laugh. "Come on, I had to." She said after I gave her an odd look.

"We were wondering if you were doing anything tomorrow afternoon."Jasper said after sitting down across from me. "We are all going down to La Push beach at about five to camp out. We like to go down there every few weeks and Jacob managed to bribe his older sister into getting us some boos."

Tomorrow was Esme's first appointment with her specialist, but that was in the morning. I had always liked camping and it had been a while. "Sure" I said. "Would you do me a favour and meet me in town so I can follow you. I have no idea where this beach is."

We agreed to meet outside Newtons at quarter to five. I had never been a big drinker. I mean, I had gone to parties, but I was never the guy who was so off his face he forgot how he ended up wearing someone else's pants. But I found myself looking forward the next night, maybe I would even sleep through the night.

Since the first night I had had the dream of my Mother and Bella trapped, yelling for help, I had it nearly every night, so to say I was a little sleep deprived would be an understatement.

The rest of the group sans Mike joined us. We discussed who would take what for the campout and what amount of money to give Jake, it wasn't fair for him to pay for all the alcohol.

Mike returned, unsuccessful and the rest of the break passed with quiet conversation about the next day's plans.

I made my way to Biology, walking as always with Jacob. The last week had taught me that Bella arrived to class much earlier than me, so I wasn't surprised to see her already in her seat. I sat in my seat.

"Hello, Bella." I said as always and like always, Bella just turned her head slightly toward me. The rest of the lesson continued as usual. I tried not to look at Bella and attempted to concentrate on the lesson.

Clearing the next night with Carlisle was easy. The conversation went something like this.

"Dad, I'm going camping tomorrow night with some friends at La Push, just so you know where I am."

"Thanks for telling me, Edward."

It wasn't that my father didn't care what we did, he just understood that sometimes we needed to get away from the house for a few days.

The dream haunted me again that night and once again my night was filled with disturbed sleep.

The next morning my family had breakfast together, before getting in Carlisle's Mercedes and taking the half hour trip to Dr Loc's office was filled with repeated questions from Esme and rehearsed answers from us. It was easier to just repeat simple answers to her. We told her she was going to see a new doctor and when asked why we were all going, we simply answered "Because we want to." There was no reason to tell my mother that we were in fact all going so we could hear the verdict straight from the doctor's mouth and we were too anxious to wait at home.

The building was simple, just a brick house was a white picket fence running along it to separate the property from the small road it was situated on. I found this a bit weird, generally doctor's surgeries were on or just off a main road, but not this one. We had had to take side street after side street to find this house.

Inside the walls were painted a typical bright white. The receptionist ushered us into an equally white room. There was a black leather couch against the wall opposite the mahogany desk. There was also a chair on either side of the desk. On the walls hung diplomas and certificates demonstrating his many achievements.

Esme, Emmett and I sat on the couch and Carlisle took a seat on the chair closest to us just before a man entered the room.

"Hi, I am Doctor Loc. You must be the Cullen family and this lovely lady must be Esme." He said as he took a seat.

Esme looked at me, obviously concerned. "Why are we at the doctor's? Is somebody sick? Are you okay?" she asked. Before I had a chance to answer the doctor spoke.

"Everyone is fine. I just wanted to have a talk with you." He smiled at her. "Now, why don't you tell me about your family."

He smiled back at him. "Well this is my eldest son Edward. He was born on the third of January 1988." Wrong. I was born 20th June 1991. Emmett was born 1988 and the third was my Auntie's birthday. Obviously Emmett is the eldest. "This is my eldest Emmett and he was born 2nd November 1990." Well, at least she had remembered he was the eldest, I didn't know where she got his birthday from. "They are my world and I love them more than I thought possible. I thought I couldn't get pregnant, but I got two miracles." This was true. She had told us since we were kids how special we were to her and how she felt blessed to have gotten us. "This man is my husband, Carlisle. We have been married for 20 years." Really they had been married for 25, but she was close enough.

She had done well. Sure a few birthdays here and there had been mixed up or make up, but she remembered who we were. At times she would introduce me as her brother or Carlisle as her uncle.

"What a lovely family you have." Dr. Loc said a smile still present on his face. "Now, Esme, do you think it would be okay with you if I was to get a quick blood test?" Esme agreed. "Okay well if you go just out the door there is another door to the right. My nurse will be there in a minute, okay?"

The minute she was out the door my father stood and followed her to show her the way and sit with her. She always felt safer when one of us was with her, and honestly it made us all feel better to know she was being looked after by someone we knew.

"I wanted to have a talk with you boys if that is okay." The doctor said once our parents had left the room. "How did she go with the birthdays?"

Emmett explained the mistakes and told him the true dates. We had been through this before with other doctors. Esme would be asked to leave through a simple distraction, Carlisle would follow her out and Emmett and I would talk about Esme's history. Sure enough after the first question, we were asked to talk about what symptoms had started when, medications she was on, allergies, other illnesses in her past, etcetera, etcetera. This took 15 minutes.

After this finished, Dr. Loc had my brother and I fill out questionnaires filled with simple questions about the family, where we lived and schools we had attended. We explained that he would ask our mother the same questions and then assess the severity of her illness.

We were told to wait in his office for him and my mother to return. A minute after he left my father walked in. He explained that the doctor had wanted to interview Esme alone.

We continued to wait nervously for the doctor to return. After 15 minutes my father started to tap his foot on the ground in a steady pace, after 30, he was pacing.

He continued to pace and check his watch for the next 10 minutes, until the doctor appeared, surprising us when he returned sans Esme.

"She is having a cup of tea with my nurse. I wanted to talk to you all alone first." He said, answering my father's concerned look. "I asked Esme the same questions I had you boys answer and I am afraid her results show that her illness is quite advanced."

He gave us a minute to absorb this. Although we had all expected this, it was still hard to hear. I heard my mother's laugh from the other side of the door and it made me smile. She was still happy and that is what mattered to me.

"I asked her the 30 questions and out of those 30 she answered a total of 5 correct, 17%. I have a way of determining severity that is dependent on this score. I am afraid that Esme is in the second lowest category. Although I can still help her, I must warn you that this result means that the chance of success is halved. I am not going to accept a decision today, instead I would like to make an appointment for you in a week and I will accept a decision then. This decision must be talked over a lot and if you decide to proceed then you must realise that there are risks."

Dr. Loc gave us information to take home with us before walking us out of his office into the reception area, where we found Esme sitting with the woman we had seen earlier. They both had cups of tea. The minute my mother saw us, her eyes brightened and a smile spread across her face.

"This is my husband Carlisle, my brother Lewis and my son Emmett." She told the woman as she motioned to Carlisle, Emmett, then me.

I took my mother's hand and helped her out the door while she smiled and waved goodbye. I sat her in the front seat of the car, just as Emmett and my father emerged. I got into the backseat with Emmett. After a few minutes, I felt Emmett nudge me. I looked over to see his phone held out toward me. I took it and read the message he had typed on the screen.

_So, what did you think?_

I deleted what he had written and replied before handing it back to him.

_I don't know what to think at the moment. You?_

I waited for him to type his reply.

_I just hope this guy is legit. I mean, I know Dad did his research, but I just don't want to put Mum through anything she doesn't have to go through. You know what I mean?_

I knew exactly what he meant.

_Do you think we should do this?_ I asked him

_Honestly, the risks scare me. It can make it worse, cause behaviour defects, death. There's only a 15% chance this could work._

I took in what he had written and felt a shudder run down my back. I felt the same. I quickly wrote a reply.

_I don't think it is worth the risk._

_I agree._ His reply read.

The rest of the trip home was mainly silent. The only noise came from Esme and her questions. Where are we going? Where were we if we are going home? Do I live there with you? Where's Edward?

Emmett and I exchanged a nervous glance once we arrived home. It was time to tell Carlisle what we thought and we knew he wouldn't like it. We had asked for Rosalie to come over for an hour to look after Esme, so we could discuss our options.

She was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in front of her, the smell of it filled the room. We greeted her before telling Esme that we would just be upstairs.

We walked in silence to the TV room upstairs, closed the door and sat down, Emmett and I on the couch and our father in an armchair. We were silent for a few minutes before Carlisle spoke.

"I want to hear what you think."

I nudged Emmett, letting him know he would be telling our father. He sighed before speaking.

"Edward and I thought about and we agree. There are too many risks and they are big risks to take for a small chance." He spoke with confidence, keeping eye contact with our father the whole time, but as soon as the words left his mouth he dropped his head to look at the floor and he spoke in a small voice. "Sorry, Dad. I know we had hoped we had found a cure, but the thought of losing Mum completely is too much."

Our father was always calm, very rarely was he angry. So it scared me when he stood suddenly and ran a hand through his hair. He looked furious and when he spoke his voice was full of the emotion.

"Yeah well too bad. I've decided we are going for it. You say you don't want to lose your mother, right? Well I don't know if you realise this, but we are going to lose her either way. I am not going sit around and watch the woman I love waste away until there is nothing but a shell left!"

His little rant had me angry. I stood as well and Emmett joined me. "What are you saying Carlisle? That we don't care? Because you must be completely fucked to think that we don't care. You think you can make this decision without thinking about what we think. She is our mother and I know what will happen if we don't do this, but you don't know what could happen if we don't do this. Were you listening when he said that there is a risk of death." By the end I was yelling, but I couldn't bring myself to care.

"Don't you talk to me like that. I am your father." He yelled back at me.

I was about to respond, but Emmett spoke up. "Shut the fuck up! Both of you! Do you know how loud you are? Do you want Mum to hear this?"

I didn't answer, I just walked out. I went to my room and grabbed the bag I had packed last night and my car keys before I heading to the door. I saw Carlisle and told him I was going, never stopping. I through my bag in the backseat before driving away.

How could he decide to go ahead with something like this without even considering what Emmett and I thought? He had implied that we didn't care and therefore he was the best to make the decision. This made me grip the steering wheel tighter. I arrived at Newton's half an hour early, but I was only too glad to be out of the house. I turned the CD I had in my stereo. The sounds of Debussy filled my car and I was instantly calmer.

I sat listening to my music until I saw Alice's Porsche pull up. I turned my car on and signalled them to just keep going. I drove behind them through the winding roads, trees on either side of me until we reached a car park. I parked next to Alice and jumped out, grabbing my bag. I could see Mike and Jake down on the beach. They had set up tents up the beach toward our cars.

I walked down to them and greeted them. I came out from putting my bag in the tent Mike had told me was for everyone but Alice and Jasper.

"Trust me. You don't want to be anywhere near those two after they have been drinking." Jake had told me when I asked why the smaller tent, for Jasper and Alice, was so far away from ours. "They are loud."

I emerged from the tent and Jasper through me a beer. Angela and Alice were sitting with one in their hand as well. I drunk the beer quickly, I was going to make myself forget. I looked over to see the rest of the rest of the boys had followed my lead. Jake picked up a bottle of Vodka.

"Now, let's get this party started."

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**The thing with ending up wearing someone else's pants happened to a friend of mine and I couldn't help putting it in there!**

**Hope you enjoyed reading!**

**Once again thank you for reading and reviewing! **

**Let me know what you think!**

**xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**BPOV**

I never thought it would be this hard, pretending.

Look around you and see heaps of people doing the same thing I am attempting to do.

Girls pretending to like each other.

Guys pretending they like her for her _personality._

Girls pretending their hair is blonde.

Guys pretending they don't have more hair product than their mum hiding under their bed.

Like I said it's everywhere.

So why couldn't I do it?

All I had to do was pretend I didn't want to sit with anyone.

I concentrated again on the carpet I was kneeling on. I started counting in my head back from ten.

_This will be over soon. _I told myself. _Just don't think about it._

_

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_**Okay, so first, what do you think Bella is doing? I have been dying to post this and get your thoughts since I wrote it! My friends came up with some interesting theories and now I want to hear yours!  
**

**Secondly, please don't hate me, but this is the only post you are getting today!**

**The reason for this is that I have a very sick family member and it has put a lot of stress on my family, stress is not good for my condition. So I have been unbelievably tired and for obvious reasons school must come first! **

**I promise though that I will most the next chapter this week and if not you will get three chapters next week! I didn't want you to get a chapter that is half finished!**

**Thank you for reading and I hope you can understand!**

**xx  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**EPOV**

Numbness.

That was what I felt.

I welcomed it, it was the best I'd felt in a long time.

I sat next to the fire, watching as the flames danced toward the sky before jumping back to the driftwood. The puffs of smoke twirled above the fire until they disappeared into the stars.

The whole world was in slow motion and this feeling continued as I turned my head to face the others.

Alice and Jasper hadn't come up for air and had been attached by the mouth for the last 15 minutes. Jacob was sitting on my left and Mike on my right. Angela was seated in front of me. Jake passed me the Rum and I took a mouthful. It had ceased to make me flinch at the taste or the burn, I just welcomed its affects. I passed the bottle to Angela and she smiled lazily at me before following my lead, but doubling her efforts. I watched as she swallowed three mouthfuls in a row. She had surprised me by her drinking efforts. I hadn't expected her to be a big drinker, but she had proved me wrong. Alice and Jasper finally come up for air and had joined our circle again.

"I miss Bella. She should be here." Jake suddenly slurred. "Why is life so shit to people? She is a good person, she doesn't deserve this."

We all nodded in agreement. Silence followed.

"You want to talk unfair, look no further then my mother." I said before I could stop myself. Everyone looked at me confused. I had already started so I continued, the alcohol making the words come easier. "She is the nicest most caring person I have ever met and she can't remember what she did 5 minutes ago. Hell, she can hardly remember who I am."

" Why?" Angela asked.

"She has early onset dementia." I replied, before recapturing the bottle from Angela and swallowing a few mouthfuls.

More silence followed before Alice started giggling. She whispered something in Jasper's ear and they stood. He quickly told us they were going to bed, before stumbling off to their tent that was thankfully a fair distance from us.

We sat in silence for a few more minutes before we heard someone approaching. I looked up to see a girl I never seen before. Her skin was a pale white, almost as pale as mine, and her hair fell in soft, light auburn curls. She was a bit wobbly on her feet and I wondered where she had appeared from. I looked at the others to find Mike passed out, Angela looking at her feet and Jake, well he seemed mesmerised by the girl that had appeared. She walked over to him and stood next to him.

"Hey, I'm Nessie." She said, her words ran in to each other slightly. Jake stood up, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Jacob," he replied stretching out his hand. She took it and they stood shaking hands for longer than normal. He seemed to snap out of it because he continued to talk. "Where did you come from?"

Nessie tilted her head up the beach I turned to see a light in the distance. "I'm new in town, but I met a girl in town and her and her friends are having a party. They told me to come and meet people, but I saw the light from your fire and thought I come and check out what was going on here." Jake just nodded. "Want to go for a walk?"

He continued nodding and they walked in the direction of her party. I had a feeling I wouldn't be seeing Jake again tonight.

I looked back over at Mike, he was gone. I kicked him not so lightly to see if he was still alive. He just groaned. Angela looked up at me and laughed.

"He always does this." She said.

We sat in silence for a little bit. It was not uncomfortable, that is until we discovered that we had not put Alice and Jasper's tent far enough away. Angela and I looked at each other for a second before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"You want to go for a walk?" She asked managed to ask though the laughter.

I nodded before attempting to stand up. I fell straight back on my ass and I looked up to see Angela laughing. She gave me her hand and helped me up. She let go of my hand and I followed after her.

"So how did you guys discover this place?" As soon as I asked I was instantly embarrassed at my question, in a place with so little in it everyone would know where anything remotely exciting would be.

"Jake brought us here the first time. He's originally from the reservation but had to move to Forks when his Dad got sick and needed to be closer to doctors and people. He lives near Bella, their dads are good friends and before the accident Bella and her dad used to visit them all the time. He brought us here because he wanted to show us 'his territory'." She replied, quotation marks included.

I wanted to ask more about Bella but instead changed the direction of the conversation. "Why didn't Ben come?"

"His Mum said he couldn't. She caught us last time and while we convinced her never to tell our parents, she is yet to let Ben come again." She sounded a little sad when she said this.

We walked up the beach a little more before Angela turned and looked at me, determination was written all over her face.

"Do you think I'm pretty?" She suddenly asked.

I looked at Angela and the answer was obvious. "I think you are beautiful. Why?"

She looked out across the ocean as she answered me. "I wanted to know what a guy thought." She sat down before looking over at me and patting the space next to her. I sat down, or rather fell down, next to her. "I don't think Ben thinks I'm pretty. He would have asked me out if he did." She slurred softly.

I was now confused. I had assumed they were already going out. When they were around each other it was obvious the feelings they had for each other. He looked at her like she was the centre of everything.

"I'm pretty sure he thinks you're more than pretty. He would be crazy to think otherwise, besides..." I didn't get a chance to say anything else. Angela had launched herself to me and her mouth was on mine. I didn't know why, but I responded.

"You are so nice, Edward." She said when we broke apart. "You are also very pretty."

Her mouth once again found mine.

* * *

I opened my eyes and instantly closed them again once they met the light. It burned and my head throbbed. I opened them again and looked around. I wasn't in my tent that much was clear. I sat up and shivered.

I looked down to see I was in nothing but my boxers. I frantically looked around to try and find my clothes. It was in this process that I noticed the person next to me. Angela lay sleeping, sans all clothing that should be covering her top half.

This is not good.

I found my shirt and draped it across Angela's chest, before continuing the search for the rest of my clothes. I found my pants a short distance away and my jacket under my pants. I quickly put them on before searching for Angela's clothes. The whole time my mind in freak out mode.

What had we done? I knew for a fact that if had done _it_ I had no protection with me. What if I got her pregnant? Why couldn't I remember what we had done?

Angela stirred before sitting up. She seemed unaware of her state of dress for a few seconds before she looked down. She quickly covered herself with my shirt.

"Do you remember?" I simply asked, praying her answer was yes.

"Bits and pieces. I'm 99 percent sure we didn't do anything too bad." She said with a blush. Upon noticing my panicked expression she continued. "I'm pretty sure we didn't do, you know, _it_." I sighed in relief before she kept talking. "We should go find the others."

I looked down at my watch to see it was 10 o'clock. I needed to be home soon.

I found Angela's shirt and in the meantime she had found her bra. We exchanged shirts before making our way back to the rest of the group. Jasper and Alice were sitting out the front of their tent in a world of their own, Mike was sitting next to the extinguished fire and Jake was nowhere to be seen.

"I'm never drinking again." Mike moaned as we sat next to him, not wanting to disturb Alice and Jasper. Angela opened her mouth to speak, but Mike held his hand up to stop her. "I really do mean it this time. My head is killing me."

Angela laughed. "That's still what you said last time, and the time before that, and it is probably what you will say next time."

The sound of footsteps gained our attention as Jacob rejoined us. He sat next to us, the smile on his face never wavering.

"Lovely morning, isn't it?" He asked as he smiled in our direction.

"No, it is a painful morning. How is it you never get hung over?" Mike groaned.

"Let's just say I had a fantastic night and I am hoping that it will repeat itself when I see her again tonight."

Girl, girl, what girl? I tried to remember any girl that was not originally with us. After a few minutes of hard, painful thinking I recalled the fair skinned girl. Netta? Nettie? I continued to trial names in my head before her name found its way back into my memory.

"Is Nessie short for anything?" Angela asked. "I haven't heard it before."

"Her full name is Renesme. She hates it." Jake replied, the smile was still present.

"I think it is pretty, in an odd kind of way." Alice said from behind me, causing us all to jump.

"I think so too, Mary." Jasper said from beside her.

I had always thought of Alice as a nice, friendly girl, but the look she gave Jasper had me giving my opinion second thought. I made a mental note to never anger her.

"I told you never to call me that name!" She hissed at him. She turned to Angela before continuing. "Come on Ang, let's go get dressed and made up." With that she turned and stormed toward the tents.

Angela groaned before standing and running to catch up with Alice, who was already half way to her destination. Jasper took Angela's place as he laughed.

"She will kill you one day, you do realise that right?" Jake said, starting to laugh with Jasper. "She really hates her name." He paused. "But she is right, Renesme is a pretty name. You know in that odd hippy kind of way." His eyes lost focus and it was easy to tell he was in dream land.

"Hello, Jake?" Jasper said as he waved his hand in front of Jake's face. Jake's head jerked back as he came out of his trance. "You have to tell me what happened."

Jake sighed before smiling and looking from Jasper, to me, to Mike who still had his head in his hands. "I am finally a man." He said proudly. "I met a beautiful girl, who is as wild as she is sweet, and now I am a man."

"Your fucking with us aren't you?" Mike said, now paying attention, as he looked sceptically at Jacob.

Jacob just smiled and shook his head. "I swear I am not making this up. Just like I am not making up the fact that tonight I am taking her out for dinner. I mean I know I just met her last night, but we talked for hours and she is just," he paused thinking for a word "wow, she is just wow."

"Okay, well we know that you got some action, everyone knows Jasper got some and Edward, you were gone with Angela for ages last night and the scene I found this morning, what did you guys do?" Mike said, instantly ruining the calm that I had found just minutes ago.

"I, ah, what," I tried to formulate a sentence but was failing miserably. "When did you see us?"

I started to panic all over again. What if had seen something last night? Part me started to rejoice at this possibility. If he had seen I could know for sure what had happened and my fears could be put to rest. The other part of my brain was still panicking. Maybe I didn't want to know what happened, what if it was bad.

"I may pass out early, but I rise early as well. I woke up and when I saw you guys weren't in the tent I went looking for you. I found you, Angela and a lot of your clothes of the ground, but not many on you." Mike said, silencing my mental debate.

Jasper and Jake looked over at me, their eyes wide. "Tell me you didn't. If Ben doesn't kill you, her Dad will."

I sighed, trying to figure out what I was going to say before I made this whole situation worse. "I kind of don't know." My voice making it sound more like a question then an answer. The faces looking at me continued to look shocked so I continued, now confessing everything so fast I wasn't sure they would catch it all. "Well I can't remember anything I mean we went for a walk and then I can't remember anything I woke up the morning to find us half naked and she says she doesn't think we did anything too bad but I can't be sure I'm really freaking out!"

The silence that followed worried me.

Suddenly a realisation hit me. From the sounds of it, Angela was a virgin, an innocent virgin that from what I had been told about girls, was hoping for her first time to be special, something to remember for the rest of her life, something she would not regret.

What if I had destroyed that?

Instead of something she could remember and smile at, she had a drunken fuck to remember as her first time.

No one commented on my confession, instead they joined the girls in getting changed and packing up. We said goodbyes, each of the guys giving me a sorry look, before climbing in our cars and driving home.

* * *

**I finally posted! **

**I'm not really happy with this chapter, but this is the best I can do at the moment.**

**My energy levels are at an all time low, so I am sorry if updates are few and far between! But I am doing the best I can.**

**I have posted the next chapter as well to say thanks for waiting and supporting me!**

**Sorry if the editing is bad, I tried!**

**I'll stop rambling now and let you read the next chapter!**

**Reviews are smiles. Please give me one! I kinda need it!**

**xx  
**


	8. Chapter 8

**BPOV**

I sat in the lunch hall trying to block out the sound of the people around me. The salad in front of me had lost its taste, so I sat here for the last 10 minutes pushing it around my plate. It had lost its taste about the time Mike approached me to ask me to sit with them. It wasn't that I didn't want to, but I couldn't.

I had Bio next, it was without a doubt my favourite lesson of the day, I sat next to Edward.

_Stop there, don't think any further_.

I had tried to forget about him, but his green eyes graced my dreams and I couldn't get him out of my mind.

It wasn't my first crush, that award went to Jake, but he was my first crush since I had rules and boundaries. It was difficult not to talk or look at someone so nice and beautiful.

Every lesson he greeted me and every lesson I found it hard to keep my eyes down.

_It is too risky. You get to close to someone and they find out and tell people that is the end, all your hard work for nothing. _

The same lines I had been telling myself for weeks ran through my head again. It had become almost a mantra. Every day I found myself having to repeat this to myself. I had found it easier in the beginning, I just didn't think, but it seemed I couldn't help it now, I thought about the things I had been purposely avoiding running through my head and forcing me to elaborate on them. I was thinking too much, but I couldn't stop.

I brought my mind back to the present. I was sitting in the Forks High School cafeteria, waiting for the bell to signal that it was time for Biology.

As much as I love this subject, if Mr Banner's hair contained anymore oil it would be dripping. One look was enough to know he overused on hair product.

The bell finally rang and I grabbed my bag before dumping my unfinished lunch in the bin and moving to class.


	9. Chapter 9

**I'm back!**

**Thank you to all those who wished me well! **

**I will try to update as soon as possible but I am now officially in my last year of school and that means insane workloads. Good news is I will be on holidays for 8 weeks in 4 days so I should be able to get some writing done then, but if my updates are few and far between I apologise!**

**This starts 2 months from where we left off. **

**

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**EPOV**

When I had gotten home the afternoon after the party, Carlisle had not been there. It felt like he stayed absent from then on, even when he was home. I had barely spoken to him since our argument and as far as I was aware, neither had Emmett.

When we were in the same room we tried to ignore how tense it was. We both knew what the other was thinking; he thought he was right, I thought he was wrong. On the Monday afternoon we had discovered that we could not discuss it in a calm manner, it was just impossible. That argument had ended with Emmett dragging me from the room and Rosalie comforting my crying mother. Luckily she had forgotten what had happened within the hour, so we once again continued to avoid each other or pretend there was nothing wrong when my mother was in the room.

That was almost two months ago and nothing had changed.

I grabbed my bag before heading downstairs to get some breakfast. Knowing I was already late I jogged round the corner into the kitchen to find my brother.

And Rosalie.

Together.

I cleared my throat, watching them jump in surprise at my entry.

"I, ah, I'm going to go and check on Esme. She needs a bath" Rose quickly stuttered before leaving the room.

Emmett stood awkwardly for a minute before sighing. "Can you really blame me? You know I have a thing for blondes."

"And what? She has a thing for buff guys with no brains?" I quickly replied before grabbing an apple and heading out the door.

School had become something that I had really been looking forward to lately. For one, I got out of the house and two, I had made some great friends and they made me laugh.

I had become close to Angela, Mike and Ben but even closer with Alice, Jasper and Jake. The four of us would hang out most afternoons, at anyone's house but mine.

In the time I had spent around them I could see just how perfect Alice and Jasper were for each other. In the month and a half at school I had seen them apart once, and that was because Jasper was too sick to get out of bed, let alone be at school.

Jake was with us most of the time, but at five O'clock on the dot, he would leave to see Nessie. They were almost as bad as Alice and Jasper. To keep him with us longer Alice invited Nessie to join us one afternoon. I was the one who left early that time. One can only stand a certain amount of making out before one goes insane.

Once I had arrived at school I walked over to the usual table the group sat at. As usual I was the first to arrive but once I sat down I didn't have to wait long before Alice and Jasper joined me.

"Hey." Jasper greeted me before taking a seat. Looked over at Alice to see her standing behind her seat with a worried expression on her face. "Babe? Alice? What's wrong?" Alice was still yet to answer, or move. Letting out a huff, Jasper turned toward Alice. "Mary Alice Brandon please tell me what is wrong before I lose my mind!"

She finally sat down before turning to face Jasper. "Something bad is going to happen. I am getting really bad vibes."

Jasper and I looked at each other for a moment and then back at Alice.

"Seriously babe you and your vibes. One day they are going to send you crazy." Alice shot Jasper a dirty look.

We didn't have another chance to comment before Jake approached. Our joking mood dissipated as we took in the look on Jake's face. He looked like he hadn't had a minute of sleep or showered but what silenced us all was the look of fear on his face. He looked like at any moment something was going to jump out at him and kill him.

"What happened?" I asked as soon as he sat down. "You look,"

"You haven't seen any big guys from the res today have you?" he asked before I could finish.

"No, why?"

He hesitated before gesturing us closer together. "You can't tell anyone, understand? If you do I won't have a chance to kill you because my girlfriend will." He paused, looking around. "Nessie's big brothers Paul and Sam found out about that night at the beach when we, you know. Now they want to kill me."

"Wait how did they find out?" Jasper asked.

"They found the test. Nessie is pregnant and they found the test."

We sat in silence for a minute before Alice got up from her seat and walked around the table to Jacob. She stood beside him for a second before slapping him. "Don't you know what a condom is you idiot!" She yelled at him, attracting the attention of people around us.

He looked up at her protecting his face with his hands. "He were drunk! All we remember of it was that we did it." he said rapidly.

We sat in silence for the next minute. Alice returned to her seat and we sat speechless. What do you say when you friend finds out he is going to have a baby at seventeen? I broke the silence first.

"What are you going to do?"

Jake rubbed his face while groaning before looking at me. "We talked for hours yesterday, about what was best, about what we should do and what we wanted to do. At first of course we were terrified but after a while I noticed something. Every once in a while Nessie would touch her stomach, and she would smile. A few minutes after without thinking a touched it as well. I know we are young and haven't been together for long, but we love each other." At this point he had the most ridiculous smile on his face. "So we are keeping our baby and we are going to tackle whatever happens together."

We sat in silence again until the bell rang. We said our goodbyes and headed to our first class. At lunch we met again and when we noticed Jake missing we joked about him being kidnapped by Nessie's brothers. We were laughing until we heard someone talking about the two guys who showed up from the reserve just before lunch.

The rest of the day passed as usual and I soon found myself walking to Biology. This class had become my combination of heaven and hell.

It was heaven because I sat next to Bella for an hour. We had experienced few exchanges, but I was beginning to see the girl my friends loved, even without the words. She was kind, which became clear when she lent the guy who had moments beforehand called her a useless mute, a pen when his had run out, along with the pen she slipped him a piece of paper with the pages of the textbook we were meant to be on, which came in handy when moments later he was asked to read. She had a good sense of humour, which I observed from the small giggle that would pierce her lips when there was a subtle double meaning behind the words spoken by the teacher. The easiest quality to learn was her beauty. The small smile that would play on her lips before pulling them between her teeth. The pale complexion of her skin that alluded to her fragile state, her hair that in the sun shined red. Her eyes still held my captivation, even hidden behind her shield of hair.

This class was also hell because she didn't talk to me. She only interacted when we were needed to partner for a lab.

I took my seat before Mr Banner made his way over to me.

"Mr Cullen, you did excellent in your test again. Are you sure I can't use your help in the science club?" Just as he finished talking a thick droplet of moisture fell from his hair and onto the desk in front of me.

A shook my head quickly, willing him to leave. He turned and walked to the back of the room to talk to another student. The minute he passed the desk I looked down at the drop of hair product in front of me. next to me I heard Bella giggle and I looked over to see that she staring at the droplet as well.

"I mean I knew he put too much product in his hair, but I never thought it was that much." I laughed.

"I know. The sad thing is I don't think he realises just how bad it looks." Her voice came from beside me. I looked over at her and she looked at me with a brilliant smile on her face.

That smile hands down became my favourite thing about Bella Swan.

Mr Banner brought the class to attention at that moment and I was forced to concentrate. When the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson Bella stood. "Bye." She said quickly before leaving.

In that lesson I got the confidence boost I needed. I had a chance to bring Bella Swan to life again and I was going to take it. I thought of different ideas as I headed to Jasper's. I told them what had happened and we discussed for hours how we should approach this development.

The next day I walked into biology with confidence. I was glad to have Bella to look forward to.

Tomorrow was Esme's first treatment. Carlisle was yet to explain to Emmett or I was exactly tomorrow held but instead ensured us he had it covered. So we were to go with our mother t a clinic and sit in a waiting room while some doctor prescribed her a wonder drug. That discussion had once again ended with a fight.

I walked into the classroom and took my seat. Looking over at Bella, who as always had beaten me to class, I greeted her. "Hey. How are you?" The mandatory greeting given by strangers to each other. At lunch we had agreed that by acting as if it was nothing special we would get the best results.

I looked over at the again to be greeted by her screen of hair again.

She was silent.

Throughout the whole lesson there was not one word uttered from her mouth to me. We were back were we started. When the bell rang she was up and out of the classroom too fast for me to react.

I packed my things before walking out the door. I was met at my car by my group of friends. Their smile dropped as they took in my facial expression.

"I tried but I didn't get a word." I explained, to drained to explain much more. "Do you guys mind, I think I'm just going to go home." They all nodded before wishing me luck for the next day.

Just as everyone started walking away I heard Angela behind me. "I have some good news."

I turned to her confused. In the week or two following the beach incident we were a little awkward around each other. Most of it was because we were terrified of what might have happened. Angela soon informed me that she wanted to keep me as a friend and that we were just going to have to get over what was making it awkward and move on.

"Really what is that?" I asked.

She walked up to me until she could whisper to me. "I remember. It took two months of nothing but thinking about that night, but I know what happened." I looked at her, urging her to continue. "We just kissed. For a long time I think, but you said you were hot and I said I was hot, so we took our clothes off." She smiled widely.

"Really?" Suddenly I was happy again. When we had found out about Nessie, I was suddenly terrified that the same had happened to Angela and I, and considering her and Ben had finally gotten together, it would have been a little awkward.

I pulled her in for a hug before saying goodbye and driving home.

***

I looked over at Emmett again as we sat in the waiting room. Our parents had been in the doctor's office for half an hour now and it was starting to play on my nerves. Just as I was about to start pacing the door opened, making Emmett and I jump.

"Thank you again." Carlisle said while holding Esme's hand.

"Remember the first dose is to be taken when you get home and then twice a day morning and night starting tomorrow. Call me if you have any problems." Carlisle shook the doctor's hand just as Esme spotted us.

"Emmett! Edward! What are you doing here? You are meant to be at school." She let go of Carlisle's hand and approached us. "It is so good to see you though! I feel like I haven't seen you in so long." She pulled us into hug before we led her out to the car.

The trip home was spent listening to our mother as she discussed how excited she was to be having a baby. Apparently she was back to the days she was pregnant and it was her impression that is what the doctor visit was for. For the next half hour Emmett played the part of Carlisle, I was Esme's brother and Carlisle was Esme's father.

When we got home we took my mother to the kitchen where we made her a sandwich she had to eat with her medication and gave her the small white tablet with a glass of orange juice. Now that it was done, the tension lessened for a moment while we played happy families.

***

I was in my room when Emmett called for me to come downstairs. He met me at the foot of the stairs with a huge grin on his face.

"She's back." He said. "She remembers. We have our Mum back."

I followed Emmett into the living room where my mother was sitting next to my father. She looked up at me when I entered the room and a smile graced her face.

"Edward you have grown so much." She whispered before standing and hugging me.

"Your mother can only remember up until she was diagnosed. Her memory doesn't exist from then on." My father explained as he smiled up at his returned wife.

We spent the next hour filling her in on all she has missed. There were tears as she sobbed out the guilt she expressed at not being there for us, smiles as we joked as the family we once were and laughter at the funny things she had said.

"No my favourite is very smart. We were talking about how Edward kept forgetting to tale things to school," my father explained" and you looked over at us and said 'if you can't remember something, just forget about it'"

The good times continued until Esme's eyelids drooped. We all said good night before my father showed her which room was hers so she could sleep. We had all decided that her and Carlisle would sleep separately again tonight in case she woke up without her memory. We all remembered the black eye Carlisle had received when Esme had woken in the arms of a man she didn't know.

When he returned I stood and hugged him. Holding him for a moment I whispered, "Thank you, for making us do this."

We all went to bed soon after. I read and listened to music but my mind was so full of thoughts I only managed a few hours sleep before I woke again. I waited until it was 6 in the morning before walking downstairs. We had made a rule for mornings long ago. At 7 o clock we would wake Esme to create a sense of routine in hopes of making it easier. At 7 the house was still asleep so I walked into my mother's room to wake her.

"Mom, it is time to wake up." I whispered. I gently shook her to rise her.

She didn't move.

* * *

**Please don't hate me!**

**Let me know what you think! Please!**

**xx**


	10. Authors note

**Hello!**

**So last time I posted something for this story was nearly a year ago.**

**Here is why…**

**You might remember me saying that I had a bit of bad luck in terms of health, well my luck got worse. In the past year I have spent 9 weeks in hospital, been diagnosed with two new conditions and am in the midst of a battle with depression. On top of this I have done my final year of school (I officially finished today!) so as you can see I have been very busy.**

**This is all about to change (fingers crossed) because I now have a lot of free time and am in the right head space to start writing again. **

**This means that hopefully in the next week you should have a new chapter!**

**I am also working on a new story, so I am getting back into writing big time!**

**If you are reading this and you have stuck with me from the beginning, imagine me giving you a huge hug! It has been a long journey to get to this point but I hope you still want to read my story!**

**Thank you!**

**Talk soon….**

**xx**


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